4th January 2019 Skopje – the Public Revenue Office has developed a module for automatic refund and offsetting for the purpose of regular and automatic VAT refund to companies and offsetting of advance payment of taxes to all taxpayers. This was underlined today during the working visit of the Minister of Finance Dragan Tevdovski and the Director of PRO Sanja Lukarevska to the PRO Regional Office in Skopje.
By developing a module for automatic offsetting, a system for non-selective and automatic tax refund to taxpayers, was established. VAT refund to enterprises in 2018, which was fast and on non-selective basis, is an example therefor. Last year, the realized VAT refund amounted to Denar 23.1 billion, being by 19.3% higher than 2017 – Minister of Finance Tevdovski said.
Module for automatic offsetting has been developed by IT Department within the Public Revenue Office. For the purpose of better functioning and providing better services to citizens and companies, PRO has commenced the process automation. E-personal tax platform and the pre-populated tax return are aimed thereto. This reform provides for simplifying the administrative procedures, whereby the citizens are no longer forced to wait at the counters. Thanks to the electronic system, citizens will also have insight into their inflows, paid and unpaid contributions.
– We are fully committed to realizing the launched projects and the reforms envisaged to be undertaken this year. It is my pleasure to point out that the e-personal tax reform is already showing 100% successful outcomes, whereby 656 000 citizens were registered on the system, while the natural persons failing to do so within the stipulated deadline, are still registering thereon. The successful realization was also a result of all citizens giving a chance to this reform and cooperating with the Public Revenue Office. As of 1st January, we have already begun preparing the pre-populated annual tax return, which will be submitted to all natural persons registered on the e-personal tax system, after which citizens will only have to either accept the tax return or add correction notes thereto. I believe a successful process will be thus completed, the Director of the PRO Lukarevska said.
In addition, in order to automate the processes, the Public Revenue Office introduced risk evaluation software, which enables electronic selection of taxpayers for audit upon previously determined risk criteria. This software provides for objective selection of taxpayers for audit, through the process automation, thus significantly reducing the human factor. Regular application of the system will start this year.